Playing with a percussionist

Shakira’s live band also features a percussionist. Does that bring up another challenge of the gig?

"Every tour I’ve done with Shakira has had an auxiliary percussionist. Playing with a percussionist at times can be challenging. If the guy’s at a professional level you won’t have to deal with clashing or bad time, but there’s different styles of percussionists.

"Some guys will blend into the background, they’re practically invisible and sound like an extension of yourself, like they’re a couple of extra limbs. Other guys play on top of you and smother you with their percussion. It can be frustrating if you’re playing drums and this guy is playing louder and busier and fills every four bars."